Unlawful Harvest on Sale for Living Donor Day

April 11 this week was Living Donor Day to raise awareness for living organ donor transplants.

Kidneys are one of the most common living organ donations. Believe it or not, the first successful kidney transplant performed on humans was done in 1954. (Animal donations go back as far as 1902!) In the US, annual kidney donations top 25,000 per year, but this is far below the number actually needed.

Other tissue and organ donations that can be made by living donors include lungs, part of the liver, bone marrow, skin, bone, and blood components.

WAYS TO SUPPORT NATIONAL LIVING DONOR DAY

• Visit with your physician to begin the steps to becoming a living donor.
• Support organizations that help find matches for those on the national donor list.
• Help out a family who is recovering from a donor surgery.
• Hold a fundraiser to alleviate costs for a living donor or recipient of a donor surgery.
• Learn about the different types of organs and tissue a living donor can give.
• Honor and support the transplant medical professionals and health systems that make living organ donation possible.
• Share your story about becoming a living…